All that Matters
by croissantandtea
Summary: Jasper and Eleanor are sick and want soup (and cuddles). Literally, that's the plot (of the first chapter). Title from a song sung by Christina Perri as part of the Finding Neverland soundtrack. This is now being continued as a series of randomly updated drabbles involving Eleanor and Jasper.
1. Sickness and Soup

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Royals, its plot, or its characters. It belongs to E!. Disclaimer applies to all chapters.

 **E** leanor sighed crossly and kicked at her blue covers, crossing her arms and huffing. She absolutely hated being sick and it was all Liam's fault. If the idiot hadn't gone running around in the rain with Ophelia, he never would've gotten a cold, and he never would've passed it on to her. On top of everything, Jasper was sick as well (probably Liam's fault too) so she didn't even have anything close to entertainment. Well, unless you counted her bitter volleys with her mother. Those were often entertaining.

She groaned theatrically, eying her table laden with drugs. Nothing appealed to her. And then she remembered something that Robert used to bring her when she was little and sick. Suddenly, all Eleanor craved was a bowl of hot cream of chicken soup. She thought about asking her gargoyle of a guard, but he'd probably refuse or not answer her. After all, he was absolutely nothing like Jasper.

Grabbing a long black sweater, she wrapped it around herself and headed down to the kitchens to see if she could find a can of soup.

Eleanor made a few stops in various rooms along the way to blow her nose. With a small grin of satisfaction, she dropped a few used tissues in Queen Helena's bedroom, tucking two under the thick duvet for good measure. Even if she was sick, Eleanor knew she could still irritate her mother to no end.

She stumbled down the stairs and coughed, no one paying much attention as this was apparently assumed to be usual behavior for the princess. Eleanor paused on one of the landings to catch her breath and try tweeting.

' _Sick. This effing sucks_ ' she posted. Less than a minute later the tweet popped up as ' _so happy today_ '. Eleanor didn't think she had hated Rachel more than that particular moment.

Tucking the phone back into her sweater pocket, Eleanor continued to make her way down the stairs into the kitchen.

The kitchens were surprisingly quiet and Eleanor welcomed the silence. Normally the kitchens were bustling, but today there were only a few people milling around, poking at pots on stoves.

After almost ten minutes, the princess finally found the soup cans. There was only one rather dusty can on the shelf and to Eleanor's delight; it was cream of chicken. The kind she liked, with vegetables and chicken instead of only chicken. She was just reaching for it when she saw a shadow and her head bumped into something hard.

"Ow" she groaned, rubbing her fingers lightly against her scalp.

There was a similar sound from whoever had intercepted her reach. Eleanor cracked an eye open and promptly groaned again.

"You" she ground out.

"Yeah, pleased to see you too" Jasper muttered, his hand massaging his temple. He sniffed and ran a hand tiredly over his face.

"You have a thick skull," Eleanor muttered. She brushed her hair back with one hand and stood up with a wince.

"So do you. Though we both knew that" Jasper glared at her.

"You can't say things like that. I'm the princess," she snapped. Bumping heads with Jasper had given her a headache and arguing with him was not helping.

"Thanks for the daily reminder" was Jasper's sarcastic reply.

"Charming even when you're sick" the princess growled, "and I believe that's mine," she said as she snatched the can of soup from Jasper's grasp.

"You know, you should share," he complained as he followed her over to an empty stove.

"Keep quiet" Eleanor ordered as she slammed a pot on the stove with enough force to make both of them wince at the noise.

Dumping the soup in the pot, she flicked the stove on and halfheartedly pushed a spoon around the liquid. Jasper had slumped against the edge of the counter, eyes half open.

"Cold in here" he muttered, folding his arms tightly around his chest in a familiar way.

"Well I'm not the one who only wore a t-shirt down here…one that fits…extremely…well" Eleanor had to force her eyes away from the way the shirt stretched across his chest.

Her bodyguard managed a grin at that comment. Eleanor rolled her eyes and tugged her sweater tighter around her slim frame as she reluctantly turned her attention back to the soup.

She reached up to grab two bowls out of one of the cabinets.

"Go get two spoons" she ordered Jasper.

"What?"

"Well I'm not eating soup with my fingers" Eleanor pointed out as she waved the stirring spoon in the vague direction of a few drawers. Jasper sighed and pulled open a drawer, grabbing a couple of spoons and depositing them on the counter next to the bowls.

"Thanks" Eleanor dumped half of the soup in each bowl.

She blew lightly on her spoonful, watching as Jasper eagerly gulped down his first spoonful only to start coughing as the scalding soup burned his tongue. They stayed in a comfortable near silence for a few minutes, the only noises being the light whispers of breath as they cooled their soup.

"Come on" Eleanor said softly, setting her bowl down and wrapping her fingers around his wrist and dragging him (as best she could, there wasn't much resistance) towards the stairs.

* * *

Jasper hadn't made any protests (shockingly) about getting into bed without sex. Eleanor had handed him some tissues as he sneezed and looked up at her with miserable eyes. She wasn't used to feeling responsible for someone else and thrust the tissues at him, averting her eyes. He took them without a word and blew his nose.

He fell asleep soon after and Eleanor crawled into bed next to him. The bodyguard was sleeping on his side, facing Eleanor. Asleep, the tension was gone from his face and he actually looked relaxed for once. Eleanor looked up at his surprisingly peaceful face and smiled.

Snuggled against Jasper's warm body, Eleanor realized that this was all that mattered.

- _end_ -

 **A/N:** Hope you enjoyed and please review! I binge-watched the first 3 episodes of this show and am now hopelessly obsessed with it. Obviously I ship Jasper and Eleanor ;)


	2. Puppies and Press

**J** asper Frost froze in the doorway of Eleanor's bedroom, a frown settling over his features. He'd heard her voice as he came down the hall, and expected her to be high or blackout drunk or something else that was relatively normal for her. Yet Eleanor was definitely not doing anything remotely normal (for her).

"What?" was all he could manage to say as he took in the scene before him.

"Careful there. Your accent is starting to show" Eleanor commented as she arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him.

The princess was perched on her bed, playing with something that was definitely not drugs but was probably just as addictive. Jasper walked forward until he was standing at the foot of the bed. A small, black puppy stared up at him with large brown eyes. Jasper raised an eyebrow at it and it let out a tiny yip that was absolutely adorable. Trust Eleanor to pick a dog that was so similar to her. The little furry thing on the bed barked and bounded forward to eagerly lick Jasper's hand. The bodyguard glared and snatched his hand back, wiping the saliva off with a disgusted look on his face.

"It's only a puppy" Eleanor sighed and rolled her eyes. She scooped the puppy off the bed when it slipped and fell on her duvet.

"Your mother has asked to see you" Jasper said stiffly. Eleanor held the puppy up to his face, a teasing smile curving her lips. The puppy wriggled and licked the tip of Jasper's nose, letting out a sharp bark that made Jasper jump back in surprise.

"Alright, let's not keep the Evil Queen waiting" Eleanor stalked past him, cuddling the puppy, once she saw how unamused Jasper was by the puppy.

* * *

"What is that?" Helena demanded.

"A puppy" Eleanor rubbed the animal's ears as the puppy flinched at the queen's relatively harsh tone.

Helena wrinkled her nose and pulled it out of her daughter's grasp. Holding it at arm's length, she deposited in Jasper's hands. The bodyguard looked positively horrified and Eleanor tried to conceal a smile at the expression on his face. He walked out of the room, holding the puppy a good three feet away from his body.

"Why do you have a puppy?" the queen asked.

"I needed some company, other than your brilliant personality" Eleanor sarcastically responded, placing her hands on her hips.

Helena didn't say anything and Eleanor saw her jaw tighten almost imperceptibly.

"It was one of…Robert's charities. The puppy was going to be euthanized if no one adopted her," the princess explained.

"Jasper" Helena called. The bodyguard entered again, still looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Why did you not prevent my daughter from adopting a dog?"

"She didn't exactly tell me, Your Majesty."

"I'm sure she didn't" Helena remarked wryly, "you're responsible for returning the animal to whatever shelter it came from."

Ignoring Eleanor's scoff and Jasper's beginning of a protest, Helena stalked over to Jasper and took the puppy away from him, handing her to Rachel. Eleanor immediately stormed over to Rachel and tugged the puppy away from her.

"She's staying with me." Eleanor turned on her heel and left the room, alternating between muttering obscenities about her mother and baby talking to the puppy.

"That thing probably has mange" Helena called after her daughter.

The only answer she received was the all too familiar sound of the doors to her room slamming.

* * *

"She's absolutely precious" Ophelia more or less squealed. She was seated cross-legged on Eleanor's carpet, playing with the puppy.

"What's her name?" Liam asked, looking at Eleanor.

"Roberta, Robbie for short" Eleanor said. She suddenly became very interested in her shirt hem.

"May I ask why you chose that name?" Liam asked quietly. He leaned against a chair, watching his girlfriend cuddle the black puppy.

She gave him a look that clearly said that not only was she not going to explain, but that she also thought he was stupid. Liam shrugged and crouched down to scratch the puppy behind his ears.

"I'll see you both later," he announced, as he stood up. Ophelia and Eleanor nodded, too distracted by the puppy to really care. Liam grinned and shook his head as Marcus followed him out the door. It was nice to finally see Eleanor interested in something that was actually good for her.

"So how's it going with…you know?" Ophelia wiggled her eyebrows in the direction of Jasper.

"Bye bye" Eleanor turned to Jasper and a shooing motion with her hand. He sighed and left the room, closing the doors quietly behind him.

"He hates Robbie," Eleanor said, tickling the puppy under her chin. Robbie promptly rolled over and stared up adoringly at Ophelia until the girl scratched her fingers lightly against the puppy's soft, furry stomach.

"Any particular reason?"

"Other than the fact that he's a grouch?" Eleanor sighed, "no. I don't think he's very predisposed to anything cute or anything that doesn't have to deal with guns or…protecting my body."

Ophelia tried not to smile at that.

"Anyways, I think you and Liam are the only ones besides me who actually like Robbie."

"Her Majesty doesn't like her?" Ophelia asked.

"The woman loves cats" Eleanor gave her a look, "she tried giving Robbie to Rachel."

Robbie let out a sharp yip at that, and both girls could've sworn she actually looked upset.

"I should be going too, rehearsal and stuff" Ophelia glanced down at her phone to check the time.

"Alright" Eleanor got up, Robbie bounding to her feet as well.

Ophelia waved goodbye as she walked down the hall.

"Well, aren't you sour today" Eleanor snarked as she looked at Jasper's rather stiff face.

"I don't believe you should keep the animal," he stated firmly.

"Well you didn't have to be so obvious."

"Your mother doesn't like her."

"My mother doesn't like a lot of things. She doesn't like me" Eleanor pointed out, "and she doesn't like you either."

Jasper sighed and turned to leave. Eleanor watched him walk away, when a small smile came over her face and a rather naughty thought popped into her head.

"Wait" she called after her retreating bodyguard.

"I'm going out for a bit and I need you to watch Robbie for me" Eleanor said, careful to keep her face impassive as she carefully deposited Robbie into her bodyguard's arms.

"Your-" Jasper started, but his sentence was cut off by the sound of Eleanor's doors closing (and locking).

Jasper wasn't trained for situations like this. He was a bodyguard, not a dog sitter. He eyed the panic button beside Eleanor's bed with a thought, but decided against it. Groaning he looked down at the little puppy in his arms. She simply blinked up at him with remarkably expressive eyes and yawned.

"Guess it's just you and me, huh?"

* * *

When Eleanor got back several hours later, she felt the smallest tinge of concern for Robbie. She didn't think Japer would kill Robbie, but then she knew how jealous of anything that took up a majority of her attention and quickened her strides. She reached her room in record time and opened the doors, unsure of what she'd find.

Jasper was fast asleep on her sofa, and Robbie was sleeping as well, curled on his stomach. On of his hands was resting protectively over Robbie's back, rising and falling with each of Robbie's breaths. His normally tense face was smooth and Eleanor could've sworn she saw him smile in his sleep.

Now that Eleanor could breathe easier knowing that Robbie was still alive, she knew she couldn't waste this opportunity.

Pulling out her phone, she quietly took several photos of the adorable scene before her.

She posted them on her Twitter, grinning with satisfaction when Rachel didn't censor them or the words she tweeted with them ( _my bodyguard needs an emotional therapy dog_ ).

* * *

The next day headlines appeared on many of the newspapers and tabloids. All of them were coupled with the picture of Jasper and Robbie. The articles all said that the princess Eleanor would be taking over one of her late brother's charities and arranging for shelter dogs to become therapy dogs.

Eleanor smiled when she saw that. Yes, Robbie was definitely here to stay.

 _-end-_

 **A/N** : I know it said that the story was complete, but I am now turning it into a series of drabbles involving Jasper and Eleanor. All of them will be fluffy cute stuff. Please let me know what you think of it so far!


	3. Brothers and Bullets

**Warnings:** violence, shooting, nothing too graphic.

" **J** asper, we have to get out" Eleanor looked hurriedly over her shoulder. There had been some sort of security breach at the palace and Jasper had shown up at her door, saying he needed to take her somewhere safe and something about protocol. Now he was trying to pry open a secret door (that Eleanor hadn't known was there).

"I'm doing my best," her bodyguard responded tightly, jaw clenched. They could hear footsteps getting closer to where they stood and Jasper handed Eleanor his gun. She accepted it gingerly, holding it between two fingers.

"No thanks" Eleanor tried to hand it back to him. Jasper pushed it back at her.

"Your father was stabbed a month ago. The palace is under attack. You need protection," Jasper answered, still struggling with the door. The princess sighed and tucked the gun into the back of her jeans. If he weren't so focused on keeping Eleanor safe, Jasper would tease her about how no one actually did that.

"Isn't that your job?" Eleanor asked, "You're the one who's supposed to be protecting my body." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him.

"It is my job, but since I'm preoccupied you might want to–" Jasper abruptly stopped talking and placed his hand over the princess's mouth. Eleanor frowned and tried to pry his fingers away.

The footsteps had stopped and Eleanor froze, feeling Jasper's heart pounding against her skin. There was a creaking noise and in one smooth movement, Jasper pushed Eleanor behind him and fired a shot at what Eleanor assumed was the wall. However, a body fell forward and Eleanor barely stifled the yelp that threatened to escape her.

"Come on" Jasper grabbed her arm and started to drag her down the hall.

"Hold on" Eleanor stopped and quickly kicked off her heels. Jasper frowned, looking both ways. Everything was too quiet. Eleanor cursed under her breath, pulling at the buckle on the straps of her heels. There was a round of shots and Jasper immediately pushed Eleanor flat against the ground, firing at the direction of the shots.

Eleanor saw the second shooter moments before Jasper.

"Jasper!" she screamed as the gunshots continued. She fumbled for the gun Jasper had given her and was about to pull the trigger when Jasper cried out sharply, dropping to the floor beside her.

"Jasper?" she gasped, turning to look at her bodyguard, who was currently crumpled on the carpet.

"Just shoot" Jasper grimaced, his hand pressed heavily against his ribcage. Eleanor closed her eyes and fired. There was a wet thud as the shooter fell. Eleanor opened her eyes to see Jasper giving her a pained grin.

"You know, when people shoot a gun, they usually don't close their eyes" he commented, gasping as pain shot through his side.

"Well Rambo, I've never actually shot one before, despite the fact that you kept at least two loaded ones in my room. We need to get you out of here" Eleanor grabbed his hand, helping to pull her bodyguard up off the floor.

"Where are we going?" she asked, once Jasper was up.

"This way. And you really need to let that go."

* * *

"Hold on" Jasper placed a hand against the wall for support.

"Jasper…" Eleanor said, staring at the red splotch on his shirt that was steadily growing.

"We're almost there," Jasper muttered, trying to stand straight but swaying until Eleanor grabbed his arm and steadied him.

"You're heavy" Eleanor slung Jasper's arm across her shoulders.

"Or you're just weak" Jasper remarked. Eleanor punched him lightly on his arm, wincing when he made a stifled noise of pain and gritted his teeth.

"Marcus and Liam are going to be waiting for us," Jasper explained as he and Eleanor started a stumbling walk down the hall.

00

"What the hell happened to you?" Marcus asked as he moved to take Eleanor's place under Jasper's arm. Liam gently hugged his sister and moved to help Marcus with the injured bodyguard.

"I can stitch this, but you're going to have to hang on until we get to a safe house." Marcus said as he and Liam helped Jasper into the car. Eleanor pulled open the other door and slid in next to Jasper.

"Liam, get me on of your shirts out of the suitcase in the back" Marcus ordered as the royal hurried to do what he said.

Jasper leaned against the window as Marcus pressed the shirt against his wound. He nodded his thanks at Marcus and kept pressure on the bullet wound, trying to ignore the throbbing pain and Eleanor's worried eyes. The princess hovered over him, hands brushing against his hair.

Eleanor could see the sweat beading on Jasper's pale face and the way he grimaced, trying to hide the pain. She also saw the worried look in Liam's eyes as he glanced back at his younger sister. She ran her hand soothingly through Jasper's hair, hoping to alleviate at least some of his pain.

"Eleanor," Jasper looked up at the princess. He could feel himself losing consciousness, a fuzziness invading his brain.

"Shhh" Eleanor shushed him.

"No. I-I-I'm sorry" he choked. His fingers tangled tightly in Eleanor's jacket. She gently closed her fingers around his, alarm blooming on her face as his eyes rolled back and his grip went slack.

"Marcus!" Eleanor almost screamed. He looked back, frowning when he saw Jasper and pulled the car over immediately.

"Eleanor, let Marcus in" Liam drew his sister away from Jasper, keeping his arm around her shoulders.

"Liam, I need you to get the medical kit in the trunk" Marcus said, carefully pulling Jasper's bloodstained shirt up, exposing the wound.

Liam's ex-bodyguard opened the kit, slid on a pair of latex gloves and started to cut Jasper's shirt off. The fabric pulled at the skin around Jasper's wound and he let out a groan, eyes squeezing tightly, though he didn't wake up.

"How far are we from the safe house?" Liam asked.

"About sixty-five miles, Your Highness" Marcus replied.

"I'll drive, Eleanor get in the front. And Marcus, I'm not the prince anymore so you don't have to call me 'Your Highness'" Liam directed. Eleanor took a longing look at the backseat, where Marcus was tending to Jasper.

"Len, come on. Marcus will do what he can" Liam pulled his sister to the front of the car.

"Do you often drive this fast, sir?" Marcus asked.

Liam shrugged and sped up, following the curves of the otherwise empty road with surprising ease. Eleanor swallowed thickly as she looked down at her hands. They were stained red, just like the last time someone she loved had died. At least this time when she rubbed frantically at them, the blood flaked off in small scarlet pieces. Liam glanced over at her and keeping one hand on the steering wheel, handed Eleanor a wipe, which she took gratefully. She scrubbed at them, ignoring how the white wipe slowly turned pink. The blood was mostly gone from her hands and Eleanor breathed a shaky sigh of relief.

"Marcus how is he?" Liam asked, keeping his eyes on the curves of the road.

"He's hanging on, but we need to get there soon, sir" Marcus answered.

* * *

Eleanor took a deep breath and wiped a shaky hand across her eyes. Jasper was unnaturally still, the blanket pulled up to his chest, hiding the pile of bandages that covered his bullet wound. Marcus had been able to remove the bullet and Eleanor had spent an anxious three hours pacing, waiting for Marcus to finish. When he and Liam finally carried Jasper into one of the bedrooms, Eleanor had situated herself beside him and hadn't budged despite Marcus and Liam's attempts to get her to eat or shower.

"Hey Len" Liam handed her a mug of tea.

"Marcus said he'd wake up in an hour or so. I can take over if you want" Liam offered.

"No, no it's okay. I'll stay" Eleanor insisted.

"Len, listen. Go sleep or take a shower. I promise I'll come and get you if he wakes up" Liam coaxed Eleanor away.

00

Jasper groaned and shifted, eyes fluttering open. He could tell he wasn't in the palace and he wondered where Eleanor was. His eyes drifted closed again and he struggled to force them open again. The room gradually swam into view and Jasper raised a hand to groggily rub at his eyes.

"Eleanor will be happy, at least as happy as she can be, to see you're awake."

Jasper twisted to see Liam sitting in a chair next to his bed.

"Where-where is she?" he asked hoarsely, "thanks" he added as Liam handed him a cup of water.

"She's asleep," Liam pointed over to a bed in the far corner of the room. Jasper managed to push himself up enough to see Eleanor asleep; her dark hair sprawled in tendrils on the pillow.

"Look, I want to talk to you about something."

"About what?" Jasper asked, shifting on the mattress. He gritted his teeth against the rising pain. Liam silently handed him a small pill and another glass of water.

"Eleanor. I know there's something going on between the two of you. Just, don't hurt my sister" Liam said, "she's been through enough already. She doesn't need anything else or _anyone_ else to hurt her."

"I know and I won't" Jasper said quietly. He set the glass on the nightstand and pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Oh, and one more thing. Try not to sleep with our mother again."

- _end_ -

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading! I know this sort of storyline (Jasper getting hurt protecting Eleanor) has been done a lot. Please review if you'd like! I'd love to hear if you have any ideas or prompts you'd like me to do.


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